DAVIS OUT AS BEARS TRIM ROSTER

Final cutdown day came Sunday at Halas Hall, as it does every year. But this one was different in unusual and significant ways from others in the recent past.

- The Bears cut three players--cornerback Terry Cousin, defensive tackle Russell Davis and tight end Ryan Wetnight--who started a combined 37 games over the last two years.

- They became one of the few NFL teams, if not the only one, to keep seven wide receivers.

- A year after struggling through a succession of place-kicking disasters, they cut one who was perfect in seven tries as a Bear.

- They cut a second-round draft choice, the fifth No. 2 pick of their last nine to qualify as major disappointments.

The last of these moves, cutting 1999 No. 2 draftee Davis, was the most difficult according to personnel director Mark Hatley. Davis was the first of his Bears draft class to start, moving from tackle in college to end and starting the first eight games. But by the end of the season, he was among the inactives and moved back to tackle last off-season, a step that did not save him.

"We were counting on Russell to step up and be our No. 3 tackle this year when we drafted him a year ago," Hatley said. "For that not to work out was a big disappointment to me and I feel like I made a mistake on him."

He does not think he made a mistake keeping sixth-round pick Paul Edinger over Jaret Holmes after one of the closest competitions of the preseason. Holmes may be one of the first kickers ever cut after being perfect. He finished last season with 2 for 2 kicking against Tampa Bay, was the top kicker in NFL Europe and was 5 for 5 this preseason.

Holmes and Edinger finished as close in kickoffs as they did in placekicks. Edinger's 12 kickoffs landed on average at the opposing 5-yard line while Holmes' nine went to an average of the opposing 4-yard line. But Edinger appeared to respond better than Holmes to pressure and had the respect of teammates early in camp.

"It was mental toughness," Hatley said. "I thought Paul [Edinger] was a little tougher mentally because both kicked awfully well. I think both of them will kick in the league, but when it came down to it, I think Keith [special teams coach Armstrong] and Dick [Jauron] and I know I felt that way. That's not to say that Jaret's not tough enough, I just think Paul was tougher. I have a lot of confidence in him. The kid has something to him. I think he'll step to the plate for us. We're counting on him."

Hatley was especially impressed with Edinger's attitude after Michael Husted and Jeff Jaeger were brought in. Holmes became distracted and his performance seemed to suffer as a result. Edinger, 5 for 6 in exhibitions with a missed 54-yarder, improved, taking the opportunity to learn as much as he could from Husted and Jaeger.

"I'm excited. It's time to have fun now," Edinger said.

The Bears opted to keep seven wide receivers because of abilities by several to play special teams and multiple positions in the offense.

Teams now can name up to five players to practice squads Monday. The Bears hope to place sixth-round pick Frank Murphy, who showed flashes at running back against Tennessee, to that group and possibly center Brad Williams and defensive lineman Ben Williams.

Cousin's situation became tenuous when the Bears traded a conditional 2001 draft pick to the San Francisco 49ers for R.W. McQuarters, who can double as a punt returner. Also, the Bears decided to keep seventh-round pick Michael Green and special-teams standout Frankie Smith with the intention of playing them both at cornerback and safety.

Cousin, a 1997 undrafted free agent out of South Carolina, made the practice squad as a rookie then reached the regular roster. He started 12 games in 1998 when starter Tom Carter was injured, then took Carter's job for the final eight games last season.

"I thought I had a good camp and preseason," Cousin said. "But they took the option of trading for [McQuarters] so they were going to keep their pick. They had more to lose, more at stake, with him than they did with me."

Wetnight played in 91 games and started 20 in his Bears career after making the team in 1993 as an undrafted free agent. He ranked fourth among NFC tight ends with 38 catches in 1999 and is 20th in career receptions among Bears with 172. His 46 catches in 1997 were the most by a Bears tight end since Mike Ditka's 75 in 1964 and he caught a minimum of 21 passes each of the last five years.

Still, Wetnight never took his situation for granted. He was signed in 1993 out of Stanford, where he played for then-Bears coordinator Ron Turner, was waived twice in his first two years, but simply kept playing and producing while others came and went.

"I never thought I'd still be here in 2000, still coming to training camp in Platteville," Wetnight said. "An undrafted guy, long shot--never thought it'd happen."

The Bears cut linebacker Keith Burns, tied for second last year with 22 special-teams tackles. Quarterback Mark Hartsell failed to beat out Shane Matthews for the No. 3 job, completing 13 of 18 passes for 118 yards and a TD through the first two exhibition games, then only 8 of 22 for 63 over the last two games.